The mandate creates a 20 percent quote for women in the 150-member Shura Council, the formal advisory board of Saudi Arabia, and the king immediately appointed 30 women to the assembly.

Al-Arabiya notes that Saudi Arabia's ultra-conservative society doesn't allow women to drive — despite that there is no law banning to them from doing so — but King Abdullah has cautiously introduced economic and social reforms "aimed at reconciling Saudi Arabia's religious traditions with the needs of a modern economy and youthful population. "